The present invention broadly relates to fuel systems and, more particularly relates to a fuel system and method of forming and dispersing liquid ammonia/fuel oil emulsified droplets within a combustion volume of a conventional diesel engine, e.g., 5 hp to 35,000 hp, boiler or gas turbine to produce efficient and rapid combustion of the ammonia/fuel oil mixture comprising the fuel emulsion.
At present, internal combustion engines, boilers and gas turbines, which power our cars, planes, trains and ships, and generate steam and electricity at institutional, commercial facilities and utilities, rely substantially on fossil fuels. The global supply of fossil fuels is known to be finite and experts predict that they will run dry at some time about the end of this century. It is obviously crucial to develop renewable energy sources to fuel the internal combustion engines, boilers and gas turbines to power our transportation and also the commercial and industrial facilities and utilities.
While alternate forms of energy exist that can be adapted to supply short term needs, some of these are not environmentally friendly and their long term use may have an effect of poisoning our planet. Moreover, because our planet is comprised of air, water and earth, any fuels derived there from to replace non-renewable fossil fuels should be returnable to, or near their physical and chemical state after combustion. If we start with air and water to manufacture a renewable fuel, then the above objective can be achieved. The family of possible fuels that can be derived or formed directly from air and water are those containing hydrogen, nitrogen and oxygen. It is recognized that hydrogen, (H2), is an excellent fuel, but it is known to be volatile and dangerous, and if mishandled, its use as a common fuel would put the average layperson in harm's way. In addition, as yet the technology for storing, handling and distributing hydrogen is not fully developed.
It has nevertheless been proposed to set up a hydrogen economy where hydrogen fuel cells would be substituted in the place of engines, to supply power for transportation, commercial and industrial facilities and utilities. While this may be a long term objective, in all likelihood, for example, it would take about twenty years to develop a viable hydrogen-fueled propulsion system and another twenty years to substitute/introduce it to replace existing fossil fuel driven engines. The projected costs for such a program are estimated to be very high, which would stress both government and corporate finances.
At this time ammonia, (NH3), is an efficient hydrogen carrier, capable of implementation to render available hydrogen as a common fuel or fuel supplement. Ammonia is readily available as an infinite renewable energy source, and can be introduced within a few years as a secondary fuel source for existing combustion engines, thus eliminating both time delay and excessive costs associated with hydrogen. Technology for the utilization of gaseous ammonia as a fuel or fuel component in energy devices is already in progress, but combustion technology is not as yet available for the combustion of ammonia in high speed engines. That is, because of its high ignition temperature and slow flame speed, ammonia is a poor fuel for use in high-speed internal combustion engines. However, it is proposed to overcome these difficulties for internal combustion engines by using liquid ammonia emulsified into a non-miscible liquid with low ignition temperature. These latter fuel components can be identified as fossil or bio-fuels.